A breakup turns into a nightmare in ‘Dawn Before Darkness’

A breakup turns into a nightmare in ‘Dawn Before Darkness’

Some thrillers begin with a crime scene. “Dawn Before Darkness” begins with a woman trying to end a relationship without angering the man on the other end of the phone. That choice — careful, almost ordinary — tells readers exactly what kind of danger Liz Lazarus is interested in. Not the kind that announces itself all at once, but the kind that tests your instincts, growing increasingly uneasy until the stakes become all too clear.